The basic requirement of precisely measuring certain components for mechanical processing, for assembly or for materials testing has been known for a long time in the prior art. In the prior art, various methods are used which are particularly adapted to the demands of the component in question, in particular to the size and shape thereof. In the field of aircraft construction, the considerable size of certain components, particularly certain structural components of wings, fuselage or tail unit, represent a challenge with regard to calibrating these large components for mechanical processing, assembly or materials testing.
According to the prior art, such large components are measured in that reference bores are made in the large component, which are then detected by a tactile sensor so that the position of the large component, for example in relation to a kinematics apparatus, can be deduced from the measured position of the reference bores. However, this method has various disadvantages. On the one hand, it is an extremely time-consuming process to make the bores in the large component, this normally taking place in a semi-automatic manner using so-called drill feed units and drilling templates or drill bridges that have to be adjusted manually. On the other hand, it is very complicated, and not always possible, to make the bores on all large components always at the same predetermined positions in the large components, but this is necessary for precise and reliable calibration. In addition, only the coordinates of the large component in one plane, that is to say x, y and rz, can be determined with the tactile measurement method known to date. Further spatial coordinates (z, rx, ry) cannot be measured.
In other branches of industry, such as for example the packaging industry or the automotive industry, easier, faster and more accurate methods for measuring components are used, which are based on an evaluation of camera images. In this case, high-resolution industrial cameras are used to record images of the components, from which the position and orientation of the components are visible or can be calculated.
However, these methods can be transferred to the aviation industry only to a limited extent, since the large components which frequently arise in aircraft construction, such as wings, fuselage or tail unit components, due to their considerable size, cannot be sufficiently captured on a camera image to determine the precise geometry and size thereof with the desired accuracy.